3 friends of Boston bombing suspect face cover-up charges

Authorities: Men didn't help plan or know about plot

2:55 AM,
May 2, 2013

Federal agents found these fireworks at a landfill inside a backpack belonging to bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, according to a federal criminal complaint. The backpack was found in a landfill in New Bedford, Mass.

Written by

Kevin Johnson
| USA Today

Three friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have been charged with conspiring to obstruct justice and lying to investigators.

None are suspected of having advance knowledge of the plot or participating in the planning of the April 15 bombings, according to a law enforcement source.

Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, both 19 and from Kazakhstan in the U.S. on student visas, are accused of obstruction of justice and conspiring to conceal evidence, including Tsarnaev's backpack and laptop computer. A third, Robel Phillipos, 19, of Cambridge, Mass., is charged ...